Downstream

"Downsteam," oil on panel, 9x12

This springtime view of the streambed of Druid Hill Creek was done during the early days when foliage on the honeysuckle undergrowth was just emerging. I set up my pochade box just above, on the bank. The rock in the stream has fallen from rip rap that was used along the banks for erosion control. The stream is maybe six inches deep.

Outdoor Oil

Painting outdoors ("en plein aire" if you want to be fancy) is a great way practice careful observation. A session of studying the world in all its myriad shapes, colors, arrangements and more gives an artist the opportunity to not only see the world but also to translate it, to make it attractive or at least acceptable to the eventual observers. Plein air painting forces the artist to confront the world, as a teacher of mine used to say. 

"Grays Lake North Shore," oil on panel, 12x9

This oil is a good example of my outdoor work. The trees on the opposite bank were lush and very dark green. The challenge for me working outside is the million hue and shade of green, complicated by the infinite variety of tree shapes, leaf shapes, and more. I did this one standing on the northern shore of Grays Lake, near my studio. I've painted there many times, often choosing to focus narrowly on a small portion of the shore. This was late summer so that the surrounding woods and trees are fully leafed.  

Skyline

"Rooflines," wc/ink on paper, 

Last Saturday the sketch group splintered into smaller groups. Some of us went to the Botanical Center, on the east bank of the Des Moines River. Some painted in other spots. I went to the park next to the river, just downstream from the dome of the Botanical Center, where I could sketch the downtown Des Moines skyline, The tallest building houses the home of Principal Insurance, a locally-based firm. The dark brown building is the Ruan Center, named for a trucking firm that built it nearly 50 years ago. The Asian roof is the top of a pavilion in the Robert Ray Park on the river bank. The graceful arch is actually the top of a pedestrian bridge you can take to go to the opposite bank. 

 

Veterans

Although I do watercolors of automobile subjects, they rarely figure in my oil paintings. Nonetheless, over the years I've done quite a few watercolor sketches of pickups and cars. This particular work was done one Friday while I sat in the shade across the street from a local antique car dealer. The two cars in the sketch were both painted and accessorized as police cars. 

"Veterans" wc/ink on paper 5x11

"Veterans" is two late 1950s Chevrolets. One is a '57 and the other a "55. Long ago I actually owned a 1957 BelAir that resembled this one. Antique cars of that vintage now sell for enormous prices, depending on condition. 

 

The Dock

"Grays Lake Dock," wc/ink on paper, ~5x15

Last weekend we selected Grays Lake for a visit from the sketch group. As always, of course, people chose other venues too. I set up on a picnic table near the parking lot, by a floating dock they put out every summer. Two guys were on the dock but weren't fishing. In the distance across the lake you could just see a pedestrian walkway that skirts the opposite shore. 

This began as a graphite sketch, after which I added watercolor. The two fishermen on the dock and the dock itself were accented with ink. 
 

Goldsworthy Group

Andy Goldsworthy has a piece in the garden surrounding the Des Moines Art Center entitled Three Cairns. Materials used in Goldsworthy's art include natural materials, from flowers, leaves, and twigs to stone. This is because of his intense commitment to nature and an intent to work with its entirety. The piece is just south of the Art Center buildings, situated just by rose garden that's currently in full flower.  The three large cairns are perhaps 8 feet tall while a central, pear-shaped cairn is perhaps five feet. The pieces are limestone, carefully dressed and laid without mortar. The Art Center's original building is clad in a similar limestone. There are two other cairns, one in New York and one in San Diego, which with this one form a nation-wide sculptural group. 

"Goldsworthy Group[," wc/ink on paper ~5x14"

Our sketch group elected to stay on the grounds of Greenwood Park, which contains the Art Center, rose garden and a number of outdoor sculptures, including works by Richard Serra and Henry Moore, among others. I sat at the edge of the rose garden on a stone bench to draw Three Cairns in the wooded area they occupy. Built in 2002, these have become popular as backgrounds for wedding photos and other significant events, as happened Saturday. A bride and groom in full dress were posing among the cairns while several of us worked away. 

Because I enjoy a panoramic view I started on the left side of the open sketchbook with a fairly detailed graphite sketch then proceeded directly to full-bodied watercolor, sometimes trying for translucent or transparent effects, sometimes trying for opacity by loading thicker, nearly dry pigment for dark values. After I was mostly satisfied with the colors and values I accentuated parts of the cairns to emphasize the center of interest.

 

Sculpture Park Panorama

"Sculpture Park View," wc/ink on paper, 5x16

Last week I stopped at the Pappajohn Sculpture Park downtown and spent a couple of hours on a view of one of the sculptures and the contemporary buildings across the street. The sculpture is T-8, a huge work (28.6 × 24 × 37 ft.) by Mark di Suvero, an abstract expressionist whose sculptures reside in U.S. collections and worldwide. The artist is well-known for having made cranes and heavy equipment part of his sculptural tools. He takes great pride in making and assembling is art on-site. This particular work was one of the group originally donated to the city by John and Mary Pappajohn. The long building across the street was designed by Renzo Piano (famous for the Pompidou Center in Paris) as headquarters for the Krause Group, based here.  

As ever this watercolor began as a graphite sketch, then watercolor and ink were applied to finish.